Volvo XC40 T3 Review

There’s a lot to like about the Volvo XC40, but by the time you’ve chosen a chunky engine and plumped for a few modest options, it’s not hard to find yourself staring at a price tag of forty grand.

Thing is, reign it all in and you can park a very desirable XC40 on your drive and still have change from £30,000.

Kicking off the range is a new 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, badged the T3, and yours for £28,310.

For now, its 156 hp and 265 Nm of torque – served up from 1,850 to 3,850 rpm – is only available with front-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual gearbox, but that’s no bad thing.

Firstly, that’s because it helps keep the weight down, the T3 shaving up to 100kg off a chunkier diesel model, and that’s good for economy. Officially, a T3 is said to achieve up to 45.6 mpg on the combined cycle, while after a week’s testing we’d notched up a respectable average of 43.2 mpg.

And secondly, the manual gearbox has a pleasantly meaty and positive shift quality to it that means it’s no chore at all to rifle your way through its ratios.

That’s something you’ll need to do from time to time if you feel like pressing on. The T3 delivers its power over a broad spread of engine speeds, rather than in one huge turbo-induced wodge. That makes it feel docile and companionable, and it will happily lollop along in a high gear without complaining. But to press on or overtake, you’ll need to avail yourself of a lower ratio or two.

Rev the engine out nearer its red line and it offers up a pleasing, off-beat soundtrack that never sounds harsh or overworked. And as the revs subside, it settles into a distant, barely audible bassline and a supremely comfortable cruise.

Some might be reluctant to view it as anything other than an engine short of a cylinder, but in the real world it feels like a much larger powerplant. And there are absolutely no vibrations whatsoever.

By contrast, the standard Momentum’s suspension feels somewhat bobbly and unsettled. It’s never uncomfortable, but you’re soon conscious of your head jostling about more than you’d like. The sportier set-up of the R-Design models is far more tightly controlled, making the £1,850 uplift perhaps worthy of consideration. Alternatively, adaptive damping can be added for £750.